Early experiences of minimally invasive surgery to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease

PURPOSE: There are fewer patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in Korea compared with Western countries. The incidence of GERD has increased in recent years however, concerning many physicians. Here, we report our early experiences of using a recently introduced method of laparoscopic antireflux surgery for the treatment of GERD in Korean patients. METHODS: Fifteen patients with GERD were treated using antireflux surgery between May 2009 and February 2012 at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine and Asan Medical Center. Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication with 360° wrapping was performed on all patients. RESULTS: Eleven male and four female patients were evaluated and treated with an average age of 58.1 ± 14.1 years. The average surgical time was 118.9 ± 45.1 minutes, and no complications presented during surgery. After surgery, the reflux symptoms of each patient were resolved; only two patients developed transient dysphagia, which resolved within one month. One patient developed a 6-cm hiatal hernia that had to be repaired and reinforced using mesh. CONCLUSION: The use of laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of GERD is safe and feasible. It is also an efficacious method for controlling the symptoms of GERD in Korean patients. However, the use of this surgery still needs to be standardized (e.g., type of surgery, bougienage size, wrap length) and the long-term outcomes need to be evaluated.